Adrian Smith (musician)

Adrian Frederick Smith (born 27 February 1957) is an English guitarist and singer best known as a member of heavy metal band Iron Maiden, for whom he also writes songs and performs backing vocals both live and in the studio.

Smith grew up in London and became interested in rock music at 15.

He soon formed a friendship with future Iron Maiden guitarist Dave Murray, who inspired him to take up the guitar.

Urchin then signed with DJM Records and released a single, "Black Leather Fantasy", in 1977.

Shortly afterwards, Murray rejoined Urchin on their next single, "She's a Roller", as he had been sacked from Iron Maiden after an argument with singer Dennis Wilcock, although he would be reinstated six months later.

Smith was also offered a place in Iron Maiden while they were in the process of signing with EMI in 1979, but turned them down to continue with his own band, a decision he later regretted as Urchin split up in 1980.

Shortly after Urchin split, Smith encountered Steve Harris and Dave Murray on a street in his neighborhood, and the two asked him to reconsider joining Iron Maiden as the replacement for guitarist Dennis Stratton.

After leaving school at 16, he formed the band Urchin, which he led until their demise in 1980.

He joined Iron Maiden in November 1980, replacing Dennis Stratton.

This time Smith accepted the offer, and debuted with the band on a West German TV show Rockpop in Concert in Munich on 8 November 1980, before setting out on a UK tour and recording the Killers album, released in 1981.

Smith's first song-writing contributions appeared on The Number of the Beast, co-penning "Gangland" and "The Prisoner", as well as the previously mentioned "22 Acacia Avenue", after which he began co-writing many songs with singer Bruce Dickinson, on the following Piece of Mind album.

Smith and Dave Murray combined playing dual lead guitars, creating what AllMusic calls "the most formidable twin-guitar attack in heavy metal, outside of Glenn Tipton and K. K. Downing."

Smith, along with Steve Harris, also provides the band's backing vocals, and sang lead on "Reach Out", the B-side to the "Wasted Years" single, featuring Bruce Dickinson on backing vocals.

Smith began writing his own material, including a song called "Countdown", which evolved into "22 Acacia Avenue", later included on Iron Maiden's The Number of the Beast (1982).

For a period of 2 years, Smith had a job as a Water Bailiff and Fisheries Officer at the Walthamstow Reservoirs.

Murray left Urchin to join Iron Maiden.

After releasing the more progressive Somewhere in Time and Seventh Son of a Seventh Son albums in 1986 and 1988 respectively, Steve Harris had decided that the band should go for a "stripped-down" and "street level" approach, which Smith thought was a "step backward".

No Prayer for the Dying contained one last Smith song, co-penned with Bruce Dickinson, entitled "Hooks in You".

After leaving Maiden, Smith started a family with his Canadian wife, Nathalie, and also auditioned to replace the late Steve Clark in Def Leppard, a position which ultimately went to former Dio guitarist Vivian Campbell.

While Iron Maiden were taking some time off in 1989, Smith released a solo LP with the band ASAP (Adrian Smith And Project), entitled Silver and Gold, which was a commercial failure in spite of a promotional club tour.

Following a short-lived solo project called ASAP, he left Iron Maiden in 1990 and, after a year-long hiatus, formed the band The Untouchables which later became Psycho Motel.

Unhappy with the direction the band were taking for their next release, No Prayer for the Dying, and feeling that he could not help enough in the creative work, Smith left Iron Maiden in 1990 during the album's pre-production stages, and was replaced by Janick Gers.

Smith joined Iron Maiden onstage at Donington Park in 1992 to "Running Free".

That performance appeared on the live album Live at Donington.

In the same year, after hearing King's X for the first time, he decided that he would "love to play in a band like that" and formed The Untouchables, which later became Psycho Motel.

The band recorded two albums, State of Mind in 1995 and Welcome to the World in 1997, during which they supported Iron Maiden on the British leg of The X Factour.

In 1997, Psycho Motel was put on hold when Smith joined the band of former Iron Maiden singer Bruce Dickinson.

The project was put on hold, however, when Smith joined Bruce Dickinson for his 1997 album, Accident of Birth, after which he became a full-time member of Dickinson's solo outfit, embarking on two world tours and contributing to one further studio release, 1998's The Chemical Wedding.

Smith and Dickinson would both return to Iron Maiden in 1999, after which the band gained new success.

During his second tenure with Iron Maiden, Smith has also led the side projects Primal Rock Rebellion and Smith/Kotzen.

Born in Hackney, Smith grew up in Clapton.

He purchased his first record, Deep Purple's Machine Head, at the age of 15.

This led him to befriend Dave Murray, with whom he formed a band called Stone Free, which comprised Murray on guitar, Smith on vocals and their friend Dave McCloughlin playing the bongos.

After seeing the attention Murray received from girls, Smith took up the guitar, starting with an old Spanish guitar once owned by his brother, before purchasing an old guitar of Murray's for £5.

His early influences included Johnny Winter and Pat Travers, which he claims made him a "melodic player" rather than a "speed merchant or a shredder" as he "was inspired by blues rock rather than metal."

Leaving school after completing his O-levels, Smith formed the band Evil Ways, including Dave Murray on guitar, which was later renamed Urchin.

In 1999, Smith rejoined Iron Maiden, along with vocalist Bruce Dickinson, who commented, "When he (Smith) left the band in 1990, I think everybody was a bit surprised at how much we missed him and certainly, I don't think anybody had realized how much the fans would miss him – big time. I wouldn't have rejoined Iron Maiden if he wasn't in the band. I just don't think it would have been complete without Adrian, and now, it's great having three guitarists."

The band embarked on a short tour, after which the new line-up's first album, Brave New World, was recorded with producer Kevin Shirley and released in 2000.

He remains in Iron Maiden, with whom he has released five further studio albums, 2003's Dance of Death, 2006's A Matter of Life and Death, 2010's The Final Frontier, 2015's The Book of Souls and 2021's Senjutsu.

Originally written by guitarist Dave "Bucket" Colwell, with whom he had worked on The Entire Population of Hackney project, Smith would later sing "Reach Out" again for Colwell's solo album, Guitars, Beers & Tears, released in 2010.